Fairy Tales
by kasumi18
Summary: Gray and Natsu get into an argument, shove Lucy in the middle, and Lucy drags the whole Guild with her. AU-verse, one-shot for now, in need of opinions as to if I should continue or not.  Also, my title is ORIGINAL. You're all just jealous.


Okay, so I got inspired for the conflict in this fic before I got inspired for this world. But it seemed to fit better. Their country is still called Fiore and they still live in Magnolia, but it's a modern-day setting. There are still Guilds, except the jobs are more like, "get rid of my rats," and, "assemble this desk for me." They still get paid, so it's more like a full-time job for adults, and a part-time thing for kids and teens. Just to give you some background! And Lucy is around sixteen, so I'll let you use that to figure everyone's ages from.

* * *

It had started out like any other afternoon.

Lucy had joined the guild to get away from home. But, after she finally got her father to consent to her living on her own—as long as she paid for everything by herself—she didn't need to get away from home anymore. Yet, somehow, going to the guild every day after school, resting at one of the tables with a soda, a bag of baked chips, and her homework, had become a routine for Lucy. A routine she didn't really want to break.

Sure, it could be annoying sometimes. When she wanted to buckle down and tackle quadratic equations, hearing Natsu and Gray argue about who could grow more facial hair faster wasn't exactly aiding her concentration (though the beards they sported a month later were simply hilarious and made the entire situation totally worth it). But she loved it. She couldn't survive each and every day at that all-girls catholic school (another condition her father had for letting her live on her own) if she didn't get to go to Fairy Tail afterward. If she didn't get to return to the place where her real friends were.

So, just like always, Lucy went straight to the guild from school. And, just like always, an argument had broken out.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me, Fullbuster."

"I think you're doing a fine job of kidding yourself, Dragneel."

Lucy rubbed her forehead. Could they go, like, maybe two seconds without fighting? Honestly.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table in front of her, the resulting vibrations of which knocked over her soda. Onto her homework.

"Natsu! Look at what you did!"

"Oh. Uh, oops. Whatever, it's pencil! It won't run."

"But now it looks messy."

"So what?"

"So I don't want my teacher to think I'm a slob."

"What does it matter? You still did the assignment."

"That's not the _point_."

"_Whatever_, Luce, sorry, okay? Anyway, I have something important to ask."

Lucy shot him a glare, before thanking Mira as she handed her a handful of napkins. Ignoring the pink-haired idiot's stare, she started dabbing her homework dry.

"_Luce_."

"What?"

"Will you answer my question?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're an inconsiderate idiot."

"Ha!" Gray shouted from across the room. "She called you an idiot. I win."

"Shut up, Gray! That doesn't count."

"Sure it does."

Cana shook her head. "Gray, your clothes."

"Aw, shit—"

Lucy blinked, carefully peeling her homework from the wet table, careful not to rip it. "What does he mean?"

"I thought you didn't want to know because I'm an inconsiderate idiot."

"I said I wouldn't answer your question. I never said I wouldn't listen to what it is."

"Maybe I don't want to tell you unless I get an answer to it."

Lucy shrugged. "Then don't tell me."

Ah, one of their world-renowned staring contests. No blinking. No averted gaze. Even a flicker of an eye would result in a loss. Their longest record was three minutes, with Natsu coming out of it as the winner. It wasn't revealed until later that he had actually been asleep. With his eyes open. But he argued that it had already been put on the record so it still held, and Lucy hadn't felt like dealing with him. But she still held a grudge.

Natsu broke first. He groaned and threw his hands up. "Don't you think I'm smarter than Gray?"

She rolled her eyes. Of course it was something like that.

"It isn't really a matter of what Lucy thinks, is it, Natsu?" Lucy and Natsu turned their heads at the same time. Lucy waved in greeting, while Natsu frowned and crossed his arms.

"What do you mean, Erza?"

"Everyone could have a different opinion of how smart you are, or how smart Gray is. Asking Lucy what she thinks wouldn't give you a definite answer."

"Erza."

"Yes, Lucy?"

"Is that a bullet-proof vest?"

Erza's eyes lit up, and she spun around, her long hair straying in the air behind her as she turned. "I just got it today. Master Makarov got it from the local police department. They had got brand new vests in the other day, and they gave this old one to Master, since he asked for it and he's helped them out quite a bit in the past. He told me it's a present to make up for forgetting my last birthday."

She sniffed the air, her hands resting on her hips. "It's still got that shot-at smell."

"Aren't we getting off topic?" Natsu whined. "How can I prove I'm smarter than Gray, if I can't ask other people's opinions?"

"You can't prove you're smarter than me because you _aren't_ smarter than me, idiot."

"Say that again."

"Idiot."

Natsu already had his fist raised when Levy interrupted them. "Why not make a test?"

The two boys blinked, forgetting their would-be fist-fight and turning their attention to the tiny, blue-haired girl. "A test?"

"We all go to different schools," she started, folding the corner of her book, closing it, and removing her glasses. "We all know each other to different extents, and we all have different opinions of one another, whether it is personally, intellectually, or otherwise. There are no constants in this equation to bring about the solution. So, the smart thing would be to add a constant."

They both looked thoroughly confused, but Lucy understood what Levy was saying. "Yeah, that makes sense—but, as you said before, we all go to different schools. This means Natsu and Gray go through different curriculums than each other, which means that they've learned different things. Or, even if they're supposed to learn the same things, they could be learning them at different times. The test wouldn't work as the constant because you wouldn't be able to make one that was fair to both parties."

Apparently, Erza understood, as well. "They wouldn't have to necessarily be tested on academic subjects. One's ability to memorize shouldn't be the scale used to measure their intellect. We could have the Master write a test of everyday obstacles, with multiple choices one can select as the best way of dealing with them. Street-smarts."

"That sounds fun!" Mirajane said, smiling as she handed a glass of grape juice to Levy. "You should all participate. It'll feel like more of an event that way."

Lucy ran a hand through her hair. "And by that you mean you want us to all participate because, that way, there's a higher chance of resulting drama for you to be entertained by."

Mirajane simply smiled wider before returning to behind the counter. Lucy sighed.

"This is interesting. Healthy competition is good once in a while." Erza crossed her arms, a content look on her face. "We shall all participate."

"I don't really want to," Lucy mumbled, swirling her straw around in her soda glass.

Erza's face fell into a serious look, her eyes narrowing at Lucy. "It's important for us to do things as a large group, sometimes. You will participate."

"Y-yes."

And that's how Lucy got roped into the exam. The master had been told about it shortly after that, and, by personal request of Erza, he agreed to write the test. It took him about three days to write it—it wasn't exactly his top priority—and when it actually took place, the whole guild was eerily silent. Anyone was allowed to take it, since it was a test that was on a fair ground for everyone. There was no way to study for a situational exam. You just had to trust your judgment.

In a way, Lucy understood why it was a good idea for Makarov to write the test. He was the oldest, the wisest, and whenever anyone had a problem, he was the person to go to for an answer. And the test itself was reasonable, without a single silly question in the thing. Lucy was actually surprised—she at least expected a pervy one or two, yet it was entirely formal, which was nice. She had been one of the first to finish, and she was sure she would get one of the top-three rankings.

She was wrong.

It was a lie. It was a lie, it was a lie, it was a lie.

"Fuck! I can't believe you beat me!"

"I told you I was smarter. No way your brain hadn't melted yet, being the hot-head that you are."

"You definitely cheated!"

"Don't be a sore loser, Natsu. And Gray! Be a gracious victor. You're both acting like children."

"Y-yes, Erza."

Another fight. It wasn't surprising. But Lucy wasn't even paying attention. She was just staring at the listing in pure and honest disbelief.

**First Fairy Tail Exam Results:**

1. Levy McGarden—100

2. Laxus Dreyar—98

3. Erza Scarlett—93

4. Juvia Loxar—90

5. Fried Justine—89

6. Gray Fullbuster—87

7. Natsu Dragneel—86

8. Lucy Heartfilia—85

9. Gajeel Redfox—77

10. Happy—75

Lucy was going to ignore the fact that the nine-year-old kid that always ran around the guild with cat ears and a tail had made it into the top ten. _That_ wasn't what was bothering her. What was bothering her was the fact that Natsu was…Natsu had…

Lucy's fists were balled at her side, her head was hung, and her whole body was shaking. It took everyone a full five minutes to notice her peculiar state. When Natsu went over, hands stuffed in his pockets, knees bent and head tilted, trying to get a look at her face and asking her if she was okay, she snapped.

Her hand shot at him like a bullet, causing him to fall back on his ass, and her finger pointed at him accusingly.

"There is _no way_ that you are smarter than me!"

* * *

Anddd I think I'll end it there. For some reason, I really like this verse I created for them. It's my first Fairy Tail fic, so it might've been a better idea for me to go canon, but…oh well! :)

Like I said before, this was my first Fairy Tail fic. I'm not 100% on my characterization of any of the characters, and I only really focused on a few this time around. I'm debating whether to make this a one-shot, or if I should make this story a series of one-shots, all in this verse. I didn't want to delve into the romantic waters yet, since it's my first time around with these guys and I want to get their normal characterization down first, before I start throwing them into situations that make them all jittery, but if I were to continue with this verse then you can count on romance coming up. I like Natsu/Lucy, Gajeel/Levy, Erza/Jillal(is that how you spell his name? I personally liked the Gerard spelling better, but the anime spells it like that. What do you guys think?), Mira/Fried, Gray/Juvia, and well…those are the main ones. SO, if you guys want me to continue, keep in mind that, when romance comes into play, it'll be those pairings.

TL;DR: I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD CONTINUE OR NOT. OPINIONS? Also tell me if I'm writing them correctly :(

And just review because I like reviews? Please :)?


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